The present invention relates generally to undergarments, and more particularly, to an undergarment designed to be worn at least partially underneath any type of pants or shorts worn in water, including, but not limited to, swimsuits, wet suits, and surf shorts.
At least some people participating in any water activity, such as swimming, water skiing, or surfing, prefer to wear loose swimwear, such as a board-short style suit, that is loose enough not to inhibit their movement, while still providing privacy, and that remains secured to their body once wet and while they are participating in the water activity. Accordingly, at least some known swimwear includes a drawstring that enables the wearer to tightly secure the swimwear about their waist. However, once wet, such swimwear often stretches or sags from the increased weight of the water, and/or the drawstrings may loosen and/or stretch when wet and allow the swimsuit to slip from the wearer's waist. In particular, when a wearer exits water, such as climbing into a boat, or climbing from a pool, the combination of the tendency of known swimwear to stretch when wet and the increased weight of the wet swimwear may increase the likelihood that their swimsuit will undesirably slip from the their waist.
Other known swimwear often also includes a liner that is attached within the swimwear. Such liners are commonly fabricated from a mesh material that is designed to provide support to the wearer, while being able to dry more quickly than the material of the outer swimwear. To facilitate providing support to the wearer, often such liners include a pair of elastic strips that each encircles the wearer's legs to ensure that the liner remains in position despite movement of the wearer and the outer portion of the swimwear. However, overtime, the elastic portions of such liners often stretch or lose their elasticity which may cause the rest of the liner to bunch up or accumulate uncomfortably within the wearer's groin region. Moreover, overtime such liners may chafe the wearer and/or offer limited or compromised support.
Because of the issues that such liners have, often such liners are cut from the swimwear by the user. To facilitate preventing swimwear malfunctions from leading to potentially embarrassing body exposures, and to provide comfort from stiff waistbands and hook and loop type fly fasteners that are common in board shorts, at least some wearers wear conventional underwear, such as briefs, boxers, boxer-briefs, and/or bicycle/compression-type shorts under their swimwear. However, conventional underwear is not designed to be worn wet, as it is made of mostly cotton, is not tailored to fit close to the body, and thus it is common for it to stretch and bunch when wet and sag and become stiff and scratchy once dried. Similarly, bicycle shorts are also not intended to be worn wet, are often as slow-drying as conventional underwear, which may contribute to chaffing, and/or are often expensive. In addition, bicycle/compression shorts, through their design, often provide more compression throughout the entire shorts than is desired by the user and become uncomfortable after a long period of time. Moreover, because such shorts are designed to warm specific body portions of the wearer, such shorts may be uncomfortable in hot environments, such as near a pool or at the beach.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved swimwear/liner undergarment that provides protection, privacy and support, dries as quickly as outer swimwear, remains securely and comfortably positioned relative to the wearer, and that resists chaffing the user, that resists bunching on the user, and that may be comfortably worn for extended periods of time, before, during, and after water activities.